Tip To The Future
by TML9115
Summary: (Prompt: You're the bartender and you catch someone slipping something into my drink.) Ava travels in time to meet Sara before her time on the waverider. AVALANCE. Complete!


**Prompt:** You're the bartender and you catch someone slipping something into my drink

 _ **Tip To The Future**_

Sara had seen the blonde woman in the bar a handful of times in the past few months. She'd paid her no mind the first few times she'd come in. She always came in alone. She'd talk to no one. Her drink of choice, Sara's favorite, scotch. She'd have one or two drinks at the most and then she'd leave. She never stayed longer than an hour. Sara had tried the usual bartender chatter with her but she seemed closed off and gave off the leave me alone look and so Sara had. The only time Sara would speak to her was to ask if she'd be having the usual and whether she wanted a refill.

She watched her come in and take her regular seat, her face more hostile than normal. It seemed someone was in a worse mood than usual. She screamed government employee but Sara wasn't sure which agency. She knew she could always ask Felicity but she enjoyed the not knowing and having to figure somethings out on her own. She'd been extra careful as The Canary so she knew that's not why she was there.

"Usual," Sara asked, her hand already on the bottle of scotch.

The blonde groaned shaking her head in the negative. "Tequila."

"That bad huh," Sara asked. She was surprised at the sudden change.

"You have no idea." She took the shot and motioned for Sara to serve her another. She took the second shot and motioned for another.

"Maybe you should slow down. It can't be that bad." Sara was worried the blonde would get drunk at the rate she was going.

"Don't worry, I can handle my alcohol. It's the idiots I have to deal with that I don't think I can handle." She downs her third shot pushing her glass towards Sara indicating she wanted another.

Sara poured her a double. "If it's that bad, then this one is on me." Sara smiled and pushed the glass towards the blonde.

She smiled at Sara. She was sure she was breaking Time Bureau rules by coming to the past but she didn't care. At first, she'd done it to understand the pain in the ass Captain of the Waverider. After the first few visits, she'd learned she didn't mind the presence of this Sara. Pre death Sara. Pre Waverider Sara. She never interacted with her because she hadn't wanted to risk changing anything. So she'd come to the bar after the legends had pissed her off by messing up mission after mission. She would have a drink or two, watch as this Sara interacted with the world and then she'd leave. Today was different. Today, she'd learned that the idiots had messed up so badly that Sara had almost died, again. Her first instinct had been to go to the Waverider and rip into every single one of the legend's asses for letting her get hurt. She'd gotten on the ship, had seen the pitiful looks on their faces, and had immediately stopped herself from going off. Instead, she'd asked to see Sara and to her surprise, they'd taken her to their Captain without a fight. She'd watched Sara for a while, as she lay unconscious, in a coma. It was seeing her in that fragile state that had her creating a portal and taking herself back to 2014 where Sara was safe and sound and serving her alcohol. "Thank you Sara."

Sara tried not to let the surprise show on her face. The blonde-haired woman had never said more than a few words to her in the past let alone thank her. "You're welcome." She paused realizing she had no idea what the blonde's name was.

"Ava," the blonde supplied. She hadn't meant to give away her name but it was too late now. She didn't think the effects would be bad if things didn't progress past first names. She knew she needed to stop coming back but, the blonde bartender had slowly been chipping away at her cold exterior and was slowly working her way into her heart. She hated to admit it but her chipper and easygoing personality was something she enjoyed very much.

"Well it's nice to meet you Eva." She smiled. "You know, you should smile more often, you're quite beautiful when you do, not that you're not otherwise." Sara winked and left Ava to tend to another customer.

Eva sat in shock, her drink still in her hand. Had Sara just called her beautiful? Was Sara actually hitting on her? She and Sara had always had a snarky and competitive kind of relationship. She wasn't used to being complimented by her. She didn't have long to dwell on her thoughts as Sara hopped over the bar to stop two men from fighting. She was impressed that she was always able to talk the patrons down. Very rarely had she seen her use brute force, which was surprising. The Sara she knew now punched first and asked questions later. She wondered if that's how the Sara she knew really was or if that had just been her perception of her. She realized, not for the first time that she'd judged Sara too quickly. She watched as Sara hopped back over the bar with ease, washed her hands and resumed her previous task of cutting limes. Ava looked at the empty stool three seats over. One that was almost directly across from where Sara stood preparing fruit. She debated moving over or staying in her seat. Eventually her desire to talk to the blonde won out and she moved over taking her drink with her. "You know, you could just walk around the bar." She wanted to face palm herself. She hadn't planned to say that. Sure, she'd thought it earlier but she hadn't actually meant to say it. She's surprised when Sara laughs.

"Where's the fun in that," she asked. "The way I figure is if they're going to fight and I'm going to have to stop it, then I may as well enjoy some part of it." Sara couldn't believe that Ava had actually moved to talk to her. The woman had been coming here for weeks and had never said more than a few words. So when she'd seen the panicked look on Ava's face as she'd made the comment about going around the bar she'd laughed it off. It was obvious she hadn't meant for it to sound as snooty as it did.

"Why do you hold back," Ava asked. She used this opportunity to study her. She knows Sara can have the men on their asses before they can blink. She sees a flash of darkness overcome the blonde's features before it's quickly replaced by a mischievous grin. "Boys don't like to have their asses handed to them by a girl."

It was Ava's turn to laugh. Sara was right. None of the men she worked with would train with her because she always beat them. After word spread around the bureau, none of the agents even went for round one. "Good point," she says as she takes a sip of her drink. She's nursing this one because she knows once the drink was done she'd need to leave and go back to a reality, a reality where Sara was in a coma. She wasn't quite ready to go back there, no, she enjoyed this Sara very much and wanted more time with her.

"Excuse me," Sara said laying a hand on Ava's forearm before walking to the end of the bar to hug a taller woman.

For a split second Ava is jealous at the action until she realizes the woman is Laurel, Sara's sister. She's surprised by the jealousy she feels. It's not a feeling she's familiar with. What surprises her more is that it shows up when Sara is involved. Never in a million years did she think she'd have anything other than the feeling of contempt towards the blonde captain. The jealousy however is soon replaced with sadness. She smiles as she watches the interaction between Sara and her sister. Her heart breaks for the Sara she knows now. The one who's sister has died and the one that tries to hide the pain of it every day.

Sara returns after a few minutes and smiles at Ava. She'd felt her eyes on her the whole time she'd stepped away. Even Laurel had noticed and made a comment about her new girlfriend. Sara had rolled her eyes and ended that conversation before it got carried away. "My sister," she explains.

Ava nods in acknowledgment. She already knew that but she couldn't tell Sara that. She tenses when a male sits next to her and asks Sara to give him what Ava is having. She looks at Sara and rolls her eyes.

Sara gives her a knowing smile and turns away. She looks for the cheapest bottle of vodka and pours him a double. Her hand was generous with the alcohol. She couldn't wait to see his face as he drank it. Unlike the tequila she'd been pouring Ava this was not smooth at all. She knew he'd drink it regardless because he was trying to impress her new friend. She gave him the drink and then gave Ava the 'watch this look'.

Ava didn't miss a beat. She raised her glass up to him and took a long slow sip. Needing no further encouragement, the man did the same. Ava almost spit out her drink at the face he made. She controlled her features very quickly and turned to Sara. She wordlessly thanked her. Sara winked again. Ava was growing fond of those winks. When this Sara winked at her, it didn't feel like she was doing it to get a rise out of her. She thought back to all the times Sara had winked and knowing what she knows now about Sara, she realizes it wasn't always to get a rise out of her. She'd genuinely winked, had she been flirting with her this whole time and she'd missed it, she questioned. Ava couldn't believe how blind she'd been. She always thought Sara was just trying to get under her skin.

"Not again, hey," Sara yelled across the bar drawing the attention of the people around her. "Take it outside," she yelled at the group fighting. When they didn't listen she purposely made eye contact with Ava before she walked around the bar. When she was finally on the other side of it, she stopped in front of Ava. "Definitely not as much fun." She smiles and goes to break up the fight that was now physical. Sara got to the fight and started pulling the men off of each other one by one. Her efforts got her nowhere as they'd just return for more. The hits that were originally directed at each other were now directed towards her. She let out a small gasp when one of them cut her. She'd been holding back but she was done holding back now. She was startled when a male coming towards her was pulled back and knocked down by Ava. Together they took down the remainder of the group and had the bouncers escort all of them out. "We make a pretty good team," she commented as they walked back to the bar.

Ava nods. Had the other Sara told her this, she'd have taken it as an insult. She was starting to realize she had the other Sara all wrong. She was this same Sara only she carried around more pain. She was more weighed down by her demons.

Sara once again walked around the bar this time it wasn't to make a point. She could feel the cut on her back and needed to take care of it before doing any jumping over bars and making the bleeding worse. She used her hand to put pressure on her wound. She was just about to walk away when the man who'd been sitting next to Ava caught her attention. He watched eagerly as Ava took a seat and grabbed her drink. His eyes repeatedly darting from the drink to Ava's lips. If there was one thing Sara hated it was men taking advantage of women. "Don't drink that," she instructed Ava, her suspicions were confirmed when the man grew disappointed. He was about to stand up and leave when Sara stopped him with a firm hand around his arm. "Where do you think you're going," she asked him. "You apologize right now you worthless excuse of a man." She puts pressure on his arm until she is sure it hurts.

"I'm not apologizing for anything. I was just taking the edge off of that awful drink." He defended his cowardice actions.

Ava pushed the drink away immediately. She'd seen Sara angry but never like this. There was a fire in her eyes that she'd not seen before. Not directed at her that is. It only went to prove to her that her Sara didn't hate her. Her defiance never held the hatred she was seeing now. The more she learned about this Sara the more she realized she'd been unfair to her Sara.

"I said, apologize to the lady." When he didn't immediately comply Sara twisted his arm. Any more pressure and she knew the bone would snap.

He cried out. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." He apologized to Ava. "Fucking bitch," he cursed pulling his arm close to his chest.

If Ava had thought she'd seen fire in Sara's eyes before she was mistaken. That was a mere ember compared to what she was seeing now. Sara's actions were quick. The man didn't see it coming until it was too late.

Sara grabbed him by the back of the shirt and pulled him back to the bar slamming his face on the bar top. "I really don't like that word." She put pressure on his head and moved to get close to his ear. "I better not see you in here again. And if I ever hear you tried to drug another woman or so much as mistreat one I will break every single bone in your body. Do you understand me," she asked and waited for the terrified head nod before letting go. "Get the hell out of my sight." She watched and made sure he made it out the door. She made eye contact with the bouncer, then gestured towards the man. The bouncer nodded indicating he'd understood her request to ban him. Sara wiped down the counter where the asshole's face had been and took Ava's drink replacing it with a new one.

"Thank you," Ava tells her and it's not the drink she's thanking her for.

"I hate his type. Men who prey on women." She explained. "For the record, I wouldn't have let anything happen to you."

Ava is taken back by the words. There was so much about Sara she didn't understand. The more she learned about this Sara the more clarity she got about her Sara and the more confused she felt about her feelings towards the blonde captain. "You're bleeding." Ava notices the blood on Sara's hand.

Sara nods. "It's not too bad." She brushed it off and walked away from the bar to the back room in search of a first aid kit.

Ava watched her walk away spotting the red streak on Sara's back. She stood up taking her drink with her, following Sara. "Need any help," she asked. It took everything in her not to stare at the well-toned and scarred abdomen that turned and faced her. She knew Sara was fit but seeing her shirtless made her fingers twitch. She wanted to reach out and run her fingers across her stomach.

Sara cleared her throat getting her attention. When she had Ava's attention, she smiled knowingly. It wasn't the first time a woman had been distracted by her well-toned body. She was about to decline the help but remembered the trouble she was having seeing the cut. "Please," she said instead. "I can't see the whole thing." She gave Ava the first aid kit and turned away from her.

"Sit," Ava instructed, handing Sara her tequila.

"Thanks but I don't need alcohol. Pain and I came to an understanding a long time ago." She set the tequila down on a table beside her.

"Actually, I just needed you to hold it. I need both my hands." She made sure to say it in a way she knew Sara would take it as a joke. Ava hadn't anticipated for Sara to share that information with her. She looked at the scars that marred her back. She had suffered so much. It was no wonder she never showed any weakness to pain. She'd already suffered and experienced so much of it. She respected the captain even more. She made a promise to be nicer when she was out of her coma.

"They're not pretty," Sara explained knowing exactly what's had Ava distracted.

Ava's fingers ran across the scars. She'd read Sara's file, multiple times, she'd never put together the pain she'd endured to become who she was. To survive. She felt bad for all the times she'd accused her of being reckless with her team and with her life. If one thing was clear now, it was that Sara always fought to survive and she would always look out for her people. "No they're not," she said slowly. She feels Sara tense under her touch and hates herself for making her feel self-conscious about her scars. "But," she continued. "They're a part of you and you Sara, you are a beautiful person." She tried not to think too much to what she'd admitted as she starts treating the wound on Sara's back. "All set," she tells Sara once she's done.

Sara stands up and turns to face her looking into her eyes. "Thank you," she says softly.

Ava nods not trusting her voice. Sara's thanks wasn't for her help with her back. It was for the kind words that hadn't made her want to run away and hide the ugly scars she had to carry with her as a reminder of a past she'd never truly escape.

Ava's head lowered towards Sara's as Sara got on her toes moving to Ava slowly. Their lips were centimeters apart when a loud crash broke them apart.

Sara chuckled. She wanted to kill whoever had caused the crash. "I should probably go check on that."

Ava nodded. "That's a good idea. I need to get going." She couldn't believe she'd almost kissed Sara Lance. The woman that not so long ago she thought she hated and saw her as nothing but a pain in her side.

"Will I be seeing you again," Sara asked, hoping the answer would be yes.

Ava nodded. "You will, but not for a while."

Sara nodded. "Thank you for your help." She motioned towards her back. She reached up and kissed Ava on the cheek. She grabbed a shirt from a bag on the table slipped it on and left to go back to the bar.

Ava's fingers moved to her own cheek. The area Sara had kissed still tingling. She shook her head and drank the last of her tequila before opening a portal to the Waverider, eager to check on it's captain. She was disappointed to find Sara still asleep. "Gideon," she called out to the AI.

"Yes agent Sharpe."

She was surprised the AI acknowledged her on her first attempt. "Any change with Sara." It wasn't lost on her or Gideon that she'd used Sara's first name instead of her title or last name. She took Sara's hand in hers as she waited.

"Captain Lance is still recovering. There is more brain activity which indicates she'll be waking up soon."

"Thank you Gideon." She wasn't sure what had changed and why the AI was being nice to her but she'd take it. She reminded herself to be better to the AI and the rest of the legends, not just Sara. Her eyes moved to their joined hands. She had no idea what she was doing but a part of her never wanted to let go. Sara's hand twitched in hers as her eyes fluttered open. She moved to let go but Sara wouldn't have it.

"You never paid your tab," Sara said sleepily. "You owe me 45, plus tip."

Ava laughed. She had not expected Sara to remember any of it. "I do, don't I."

"You do." Sara's eyes were now fully open. She let go of Ava's hand and took a hold of her suit jacket pulling her closer. "I'll settle for this," she said as she pulled Ava down to her bringing their lips together. She kissed Ava hesitantly waiting for the other woman to pull away. When Ava kissed her back, Sara placed her other hand behind Ava's neck and pulled her in deepening the kiss. She let out a moan when Ava nipped at her lip. Ava took the moan as encouragement to slip her tongue inside Sara's mouth. Ava was practically on top of Sara when the AI interrupted them.

"Captain Lance, Agent Sharpe," Gideon called out pulling them out of their heated moment. "Mr. Rory and Dr. Palmer are approaching."

The duo broke apart and thanked Gideon in unison.

"I thought Gideon hated me," Ava whispered. She was surprised Gideon had warned them. She was sure the AI had heard her when she answered instead of Sara.

"It's not in my programming to hate anyone Agent Sharpe. Though I will admit I did not care for you in the past."

"In the past," Ava repeated. "What changed Gideon," she asked curiously. Ava looked at Sara and raised an eyebrow. She was pretty sure Sara was blushing which made her very curious.

"While the Captain was coming out of her coma I monitored her dreams and I must say you made an appearance in quite a few of them."

"Okay Gideon that's enough." Sara cut the AI off before she could divulge any more information.

"You were dreaming about me huh," Ava asked. She could not wait to tease Sara for a change.

Sara got out the chair and took Ava's hand in hers pulling her towards the door.

Ava resisted. "Wait, I want to talk to Gideon more about these dreams of yours." She teased.

"You could stay and talk to Gideon or you could come with me and we can act them out." The mischievous smile that once annoyed Ava was something that she absolutely adored now.

Ava cleared her throat. "Another time Gideon." She allowed herself to be led out of the medbay and into the Captain's quarters.

 **AN:** I absolutely love the chemistry between Sara and Ava and couldn't resist writing this. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this.


End file.
